1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for turning paper, board, tissue, and other fibre reels from their direction of travel during transfer.
2. Description of Prior Art
During the manufacture of paper, board, and corresponding fibre webs, the reels are cut after manufacture from large reeling-drum reels to the dimensions requested by customers and are then packed for transport. As a large number of different reel widths are made, the packaging machines must be able to operate in a very wide range of reel widths. During packaging and when moving the reels to intermediate storage, the reels are moved using various conveyors. The conveyors are usually straight and the direction of the reel is changed by turning it on a turning device, after which transportation continues using the next conveyor. At the turning device, intersections are formed, which can be L, T, or X-shaped, depending on whether only a change in direction is required, or whether different alternative routes are required. At a single intersection point, there can be one conveyor bringing the reels and several conveyors leaving the intersection, or several conveyors bringing the reels and only one leaving it, or several leaving and several coming to it. In practice, there are at most four conveyors joining a single intersection point.
At the intersection point, a turntable is used to turn the reels onto conveyors running in different directions. The turntable is a short conveyor, which can be rotated around its central axis on the plane of the other conveyors. The continuations of the center lines of the conveyors arriving at and leaving the intersection point usually travel through the central axis of the turntable, but it is, as such, possible for a conveyor to be at one side of the central axis of the turntable. The turntable conveyor is arranged on a bearing at its axis of rotation and can be rotated with the aid of an electric-motor drive or some other similar drive. Rotation can also take place using a crank handle. Rotation can take place to either one or other side relative to the arriving conveyor, or else the turntable can be used to make a stop before transfer to the following conveyor, or the reel can be rotated through 180°. Combinations of these can also be used.
As the widths of the reels delivered to customers increase, the sizes of the turntables also increase. This is because the reel must fit onto the turntable's conveyor, so that the reel will not be damaged during turning and can be kept under control while being handled on the turntable. The reel must fit completely onto the turntable, as otherwise the parts of the turntable outside the reel would damage the ends of the reel. On the other hand, the conveyor component of the turntable must be on the same level as the incoming and outgoing conveyors, nor must there be any differences in height between the conveyors. For these reasons, the diameter of the turntable must correspond at least to the length of the widest reel. Because customer requirements demand the handling of quite wide reels, the turntables become large and heavy. Thus they also take up much space in the mill hall.